Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Determination of effective attenuation length of slow electrons in polymer films

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0007163· OSTI ID:1782149
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Center for X-ray Optics; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Center for X-ray Optics
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)

Slow electrons (with energy below 10 eV) play an important role in nature and technology. For instance, they are believed to initiate solubility change in extreme ultraviolet resists. Depending on their mobility, such secondary electrons can lead to image blur and degradation of patterning resolution. Hence, it is important to characterize the transport of slow electrons by measuring parameters such as the effective attenuation length (EAL). In this work, we present a technique that allows for prompt characterization of EAL in polymer films. In this experiment, slow electrons are generated in a substrate upon absorption of x-ray photons. The attenuation of electron flux by a polymer film is measured as a function of film thickness, allowing for the determination of EAL for slow electrons. We illustrate this method with poly(hydroxy styrene) and poly(methyl metacrylate) films. Furthermore, we propose an improvement for this technique that would enable the measurement of EAL as a function of electron kinetic energy.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1782149
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1634175
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 24 Vol. 127; ISSN 0021-8979
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (38)

Maximum probing depth of low-energy photoelectrons in an amorphous organic semiconductor film journal December 2014
X-Ray Interactions: Photoabsorption, Scattering, Transmission, and Reflection at E = 50-30,000 eV, Z = 1-92 journal July 1993
Velocity map imaging of inelastic and elastic low energy electron scattering in organic nanoparticles journal November 2019
Measurement of Resist Transmittance at Extreme Ultraviolet Wavelength Using the Extreme Ultraviolet Reflectometer journal June 2002
Photoelectron Angular Distributions from Liquid Water: Effects of Electron Scattering journal October 2013
Effective and absolute cross sections for low-energy (1-30 eV) electron interactions with condensed biomolecules journal June 2018
Sensitization Distance and Acid Generation Efficiency in a Model System of Chemically Amplified Electron Beam Resist with Methacrylate Backbone Polymer journal January 2007
Electronic Properties of Complex Crystalline and Amorphous Phases of Ge and Si. I. Density of States and Band Structures journal March 1973
Quantitative electron spectroscopy of surfaces: A standard data base for electron inelastic mean free paths in solids journal February 1979
The Photo-absorption Coefficient Measurement of EUV Resist journal January 2009
The probing depth in photoemission and auger-electron spectroscopy journal January 1974
Secondary photoelectron spectra of ionic solids as a function of the incident photon energy
  • Ausmees, A.; Elango, M.; Nõmmiste, E.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 308, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-9002(91)90631-Y
journal October 1991
0.1–10‐keV x‐ray‐induced electron emissions from solids—Models and secondary electron measurements journal May 1977
Attenuation Lengths of Photoelectrons in Fluorocarbon Films journal August 2003
Electron effective attenuation length in epitaxial graphene on SiC journal November 2018
Electron escape depths of organic solids journal January 1999
Electron range studies in solid hydrocarbon films at 77 K journal October 1974
On the correlation between electron mobility, free-ion yield, and electron thermalization distance in nonpolar dielectric liquids journal March 1993
Ionization potential and electron attenuation length of titanium dioxide deposited by atomic layer deposition determined by photoelectron spectroscopy in air journal November 2017
Nonuniversal Transverse Electron Mean Free Path through Few-layer Graphene journal August 2019
Attenuation lengths of low-energy electrons in solids journal July 1974
Cross Sections for Low-Energy (1–100 eV) Electron Elastic and Inelastic Scattering in Amorphous Ice journal January 2003
Low energy electron attenuation lengths in core–shell nanoparticles journal January 2017
Attenuation Length of Electrons in Self-Assembled Monolayers of n -Alkanethiols on Gold journal March 1999
Secondary electron emission properties journal January 1996
Attenuation lengths in organic materials journal February 2011
Effective attenuation length of an electron in liquid water between 10 and 600 eV journal July 2014
Thermalization Distance of Electrons Generated in Poly(4-hydroxystyrene) Film Containing Acid Generator upon Exposure to Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation journal March 2011
Secondary Electrons in EUV Lithography journal January 2013
Low-energy electron-induced reactions in condensed matter journal January 2010
Low-Energy Electron Transmission through Thin-Film Molecular and Biomolecular Solids journal May 2007
Valence Band Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Liquid Silicon journal July 1995
Fundamental understanding of chemical processes in extreme ultraviolet resist materials journal October 2018
Low energy electron attenuation length studies in thin amorphous carbon films journal January 1985
Relationships between electron inelastic mean free paths, effective attenuation lengths, and mean escape depths journal October 1999
Transport and relaxation of hot conduction electrons in an organic dielectric journal December 1986
Soft-x-ray-induced secondary-electron emission from semiconductors and insulators: Models and measurements journal March 1979
Attenuation lengths of photoelectrons in hydrocarbon films journal February 1989